Tantalus

Tan·ta·lus

Gr. Myth. a king, son of Zeus, doomed in the lower world to stand in water that always recedes when he tries to drink it and under branches of fruit that always remain just out of reach

Origin of Tantalus

Classical Latin from Classical Greek Tantalos

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"Tantalus." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 20 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Tantalus>.

APA Style

Tantalus. (n.d.). Retrieved January 20th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Tantalus

Tantalus

noun

Greek Mythology

A king who for his crimes was condemned in Hades to stand in water that receded when he tried to drink, and with fruit hanging above him that receded when he reached for it.

Origin of Tantalus

Latin from Greek Tantalos ; see telə- in Indo-European roots.

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"Tantalus." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 20 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Tantalus>.

APA Style

Tantalus. (n.d.). Retrieved January 20th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Tantalus

Noun

(plural tantaluses)

A stork of the genus Mycteria (formerly Tantalus), especially the American wood ibis, Mycteria americana.
A stand in which to lock up drink decanters while keeping them visible.
Something of an evasive or retreating nature, something consistently out of reach; a tantalising thing.

Origin

From Latin Tantalus, from Ancient Greek Î¤Î±Î½Ï„Î±Î»Î¿Ï‚ (Tantalos, “Tantalus"), a Phrygian king in Greek mythology who was condemned to stand in a pool of water which receded every time he tried to drink, and with overhanging branches of fruit which pulled back whenever he tried to eat.

Proper noun

(Greek mythology) A Phrygian king who was condemned to remain in Tartarus, chin deep in water, with fruit-laden branches hanging above his head; whenever he tried to drink or eat, the water and fruit receded out of reach.

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"Tantalus." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 20 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Tantalus>.

APA Style

Tantalus. (n.d.). Retrieved January 20th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Tantalus

Tantalus

Tantalus

Sentence Examples

Also Mentioned In

WORDS NEAR Tantalus IN THE DICTIONARY

Tantalus

Tantalus

Sentence Examples

Also Mentioned In

WORDS NEAR Tantalus IN THE DICTIONARY

Join YourDictionary today